Technical Field
This invention relates generally to optical multiplexers and methods and apparatus that use optical multiplexers.
Description of Related Art
This section introduces aspects that may facilitate a better understanding of the inventions. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be understood in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.
In recent years, optical spatial mode-multiplexing has been studied as a method for providing optical communications. In optical spatial mode-multiplexing, a set of orthonormal optical propagating modes of a multi-mode optical fiber carry data between an optical transmitter and an optical receiver. The set includes optical propagating modes with nontrivially different lateral intensity and/or phase profiles. Since such different optical propagating modes may carry different data streams, this method of optical communication, which uses a multi-mode optical fiber, has a potential to provide higher data communication rates than methods of optical communication, which use a single mode optical fiber. Thus, optical spatial mode-multiplexing has a potential to solve a data crisis, which may occur due to the growing demand for the optical transmission of data at higher rates.